Saturday, 13 October 2012

Les Misérables

"Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to immorality, while
Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and bounty. And Allah is
all-Encompassing and Knowing.”
(Qur’an 2:268)

"Les Misérables" is one
of my favourite novel by Victor Hugo. Today for the first time I watched
the musical theatre version pieces live, at Subiaco's Regal Theatre, Perth. It was really a nice show.

The story principally focusing on
the struggles of the protagonist' ex-convict Jean Valjean who seeks to redeem
himself but cannot escape his dark past. Convicted for stealing a loaf of bread
to feed his sister’s seven starving children and sent to prison for five years.
However, he is paroled from prison nineteen years later because tried to escape. Rejected by society for being a
former convict, he encounters a Bishop who turns his life around by showing him
mercy and encouraging him to become a new man.

Here, we then watch as he
transform his life and brings hope to others in the midst of economic and political
turmoil. When a ruthless police inspector recognizes Valjean, he is forced to
face his past. Eventually, when justice is satisfied, and as the people of France
call for freedom, Valjean is freed from the burden of his crime.

The theme throughout Les Misérables is the detrimental effect of poverty on traditional family
values. Much of the novel, focuses on
the plight of those low on the socioeconomic sphere who are moral people driven
to immoral actions by the simple need to ensure the survival. If a good person is forced into crime because of an
inability to support loved ones, even when he possesses a willingness and
capability for work, is it the law or crime which is truly unjust? It also critiques a corrupt criminal justice
system which fails to protect from true crime and fosters greater criminality
in people trapped by circumstance.

A highly class segregated society
creates the very people and situations it condemns. The novel also critique of
the treatment of women in a society reeking of hypocrisy. Society condemns Fantine for her role as a
mistress and mother of an illegitimate child. Fantine lives a hard working life attempting to support her child until
she is fired for “immoral” behaviour, leaving her no recourse but prostitution.

Les Misérables is also about
forgiveness and redemption. We often see things and immediately think they are
unforgivable. Granted, they are irreversible, but there is always hope. If you
keep looking at what you left behind/what happened, you can never really see
what lies ahead. And I think Les Misérables taps into that in a time where
society is in decay and standard living was low. I saw the book as one of hope,
(not extreme hope, but that of inner strength) and I think it is something all
Muslims can take home.

Les Misérables title relates and more to the massive flaws in
society, which has continued in unabated popularity
perhaps because these issues continue to plague societies today. But Nevertheless,
Les was truly an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited
love, passion, sacrifice and redemption - a timeless testament to the survival
of the human spirit.